Sacrifice
by emu ostriches
Summary: Raynor and Warfield's army have beaten the Zerg and disinfested the Queen of Blades, it should be a time for joy. But when a missing part of the Zeratul's vision is revealed, what do Raynor and Kerrigan have to sacrifice in order to save the sector
1. Prologue

Hi, this is my first Starcraft fic, (I usually read and write Chuck fics) and I hope you all enjoy it. I have a direction in this story that I am slowly heading towards and this story I hope, can act as a pretty good bridge between Wings of Liberty and Heart of the Swarm (It is not the official storyline by any means) . I have several chapters written down already and should update very soon. The next chapters, I can promise you will be a lot longer

_Disclaimer: I own nothing from Starcraft, it all belongs to Blizzard, it still doesn't stop the fact that I want to own Kerrigan (not infested of course) and Nova... oh and physicals and sponge baths from the medics :P_

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><p>Jim Raynor scooped Sarah Kerrigan in his arm, frail, naked, vulnerable, the woman that he loved, not the Queen of Blades that he had sworn to kill four years ago. He looked down at her unconscious form and finally smiled, "I've got you now, you're finally safe."<p>

The surviving marines are all standing in the Zerg base as the creep underneath their feet slowly receded, shifting under their feet, the barren soil seeing the sun for the first time in years. They were staring at the crumbling hive structure, waiting for the man who led them to the greatest victory in the history of the Terran Dominion has ever seen.

As Jim Raynor stepped out of the hive, escaping the musky scent of death and into the sunlight, all eyes were focused on the frail being in Raynor's arms. There were no shouts of victory, no whooping, no celebration of any sort, only the stunned silence as they faced the sector's tormentor. This was the Queen of Blades that has thrown tanks into the air and destroyed massive battlecruisers with her psionic powers seemingly with ease … and she was no more, she is once again human.

As this realization dawns upon the men, there was still no cheering, only a complete outburst of pent-up emotion, as some of the fiercest, largest men there are in the -Terran sector broke down crying, happy to have survived the zerg onslaught.

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><p>I know this was a very short one, I will get into my main story very soon, expect an update either tomorrow or 2 days from now.<p>

Review please! Even if it is just 2 words, it will mean the world to me


	2. The Aftermath

_Here's the second chapter to my story, hope you guys enjoy it!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Starcraft_

_This story is not beta-ed_

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><p>Raynor brought Kerrigan back to the Terran Command Center, past the wary eyes of his forces who were staring at the prone form in his arms, half scared, half angry at the now human Queen of Blades. Raynor could see it in their eyes, if they were in charge, they would put a bullet in her brain incase she somehow turns back again. He thought to himself, 'That is to be expected… she was the Queen of Blades, but I still can't reveal the prophecy yet… no, not until I find out how Kerrigan is the key to the survival of the universe.'<p>

He gave Kerrigan to several medics, "Take care of her. Keep me updated on her healing progress." "Yes sir!" Although their faces did not show it, Raynor could see from the posture and voice of the medics that they did not relish this task. A marine runs up to Raynor, salutes him and repeats an order drummed into his brain, "Commander, General Warfield requests your presence in the situation room." "Tell him I will be there in 3 minutes."

Raynor walks into the situation room, where his second-in-command, Matt Horner and General Warfield were waiting. Horner looked at Raynor, stunned and said, "Tychus… he was helping Mengsk?" Raynor gave Horner a fierce look, "He was manipulated, as far as I am concerned, he was a hero, he went with us to hell and back, he was a goddam hero, we could have saved him."

General Warfield put his hand on Raynor's shoulder, consoling "I'm sorry that you lost your friend, I truly am, but this should be a time for rejoice, we have accomplished our mission, beat back the Zerg infestation. We won." He paused for a second, thinking and asked, "Although I do question your judgement on bringing the Queen of Blades to our base."

Raynor was about to respond when the screen in the middle of the room flickered and Prince Valerian's jubilant face came on. He went straight to the point, "The artifact was a success then."

Raynor replied. "Ya, it did."

"And the Zerg? Are they defeated."

Warfield replied, "Our preliminary scans show that all the Zerg presence on this wretched planet is eradicated."

Valerian, looking more and more smug, "Good, good! And I trust you have killed the Queen of Blades."

Raynor, scowls at the screen, "She is alive."

This causes his smug look to fall, "What!" Raynor sees a flash of surprise in his eyes, Valerian losing all composure continued, his voice with as much authority as a crown prince could muster, "Kill her! She is the Queen of Blades, have you seen what she can do? SHE NEEDS TO DIE! I NEED HER DEAD!"

However, this had no effect on the men he was speaking to, "NO, YOUR FATHER WANTS HER DEAD! She is disinfested and there is no need to kill her anymore. She is human again. We need her." Raynor takes a breath, calming down slightly. "Boy… there are things you don't understand and out of your comprehension. We need her, every being in this sector needs her, I need her."

Valerian replies, "I knew that scoundrel Findley wouldn't succeed, if you wouldn't do it, I have agents that will. General, take Raynor's men into custody. The Dominion has plans that require the death of that bitch."

"I knew I shouldn't have trusted you for a second." Raynor growled at the screen, his hand instinctively gripped his firearm, even though he has the utmost respect for the veteran general, if it comes down to it, he wouldn't hesitate to shoot him. However, Warfield looks completely calm, gives Raynor and Horner a look of understanding and turns back to Valerian simply replying, "No. I won't. I trust this man, I may be loyal to the Dominion, but now I trust neither you nor your father. You have spent your time safe, in your own ship, taking a quarter of the battle group with you as your personal bodyguard, battlecruisers, tanks and men that could have contributed to the fight and reduce our casualties."

Valerian tries to interrupt, "General!"

"NO! YOU LISTEN TO ME YOU PUP!" Warfield roared. "This past week, I have fought by Raynor's side, I have bled with him. No, I don't believe the lies that you and your father have told. The UNN broadcasts? They were the truth weren't they? I pledged myself, my men and my loyalty to the Dominion and your family is destroying it."

Valerian shuts off the screen, the adjutant voice says, "Commander, we are detecting several ships in the planet's orbit are ready to enter into hyperspace."

Raynor deadpanned, "That would be Valerian, running away, a Mengsk a coward? Why am I not surprised."

Warfield pushed Raynor towards the door and shouts, "Go see Kerrigan, I may have the loyalty of my men, but I bet Valerian will have spies in my army. Now I don't know your reasons for keeping her alive, but you have earned my loyalty and trust, I trust you that what you are doing will not doom us all and I hope that you trust me enough to tell me later why you kept her alive. Go!"

At Warfield's warning, Raynor calls his personal bodyguard and rushes towards the medical ward. He could hear the faint sound of gunfire and people screaming as they were shot. As the small group turned the corner into the medical ward, they saw several guards lying outside the door, dead. He could hear voices coming from inside the ward, "Where is the Queen of Blades?"

Raynor leads his group into the ward, guns raised, several marines and a marauder were aiming their weapons at various doctors, nurses and even some of the patients. The opposing group quickly turned around and faced him, but they were too slow, gauss rifles blasted, as all the marines were quickly mowed down. The remaining marauder aimed his shot into the surgical ward where he guessed Kerrigan to be and fired, before out of nowhere, his gun arm fell to the ground as blood spluttered out of his missing limb. A blood curdling scream erupted from his mouth just as his head was suddenly also sliced off. The subsequent explosion was stopped as a blur absorbed the blast with his shields. No one was hurt.

Raynor muttered, "Zeratul," The dark templar materialized in front of him, "Friend Raynor." Many of the people in the hospital ward began to realize that a protoss was amongst them and began to panic, since most of them were Dominion forces and unlike Raynor's Raiders, have only fought against them, never with them. Pandemonium ensued, as soldiers and doctors alike began to run away, even the injured on the bed attempted to get away, some only succeeded in falling on the floor, unable to move on.

"Relax soldiers! This protoss is a friend, he will not hurt you." Raynor smiled, "Zeratul, thank you for that, you have saved many of my injured men."

"It was the least I could do, since you have succeeded in disinfesting Kerrigan. Let's go somewhere more private, there is something urgent that I need to speak to you of."

Raynor took Zeratul back to his personal quarters, "What do you need?"

Zeratul replied, "I was not completely honest with you when I showed you my memory, there was one part that I blocked out, for fear that you will not let me back here, I needed you to be calm and ready and willing to do the correct thing before this important piece of information reaches your ears."

Raynor was stunned, Zeratul was the most honourable human or protoss he has ever met, he simply couldn't believe that Zeratul could lie or be capable of lying. What information could he hold that would cause him to deceive?

Zeratul continued on, "My memory never revealed how saving Kerrigan can save this sector, but I actually knew, I withheld it from you and for that I am sorry. I felt that if I told you, you would be resistant to see me again, however, this is a decision for Kerrigan herself to make as well as you. This piece of information is something your other commanders must also hear before you make your plan. And we need to act fast, bring Kerrigan to the situation room, last time I checked, she is beginning to stir." And he was gone.

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><p><em>20 minutes ago<em>

Kerrigan stirred from unconsciousness, awake from a nightmare, finding herself on a bed in a white empty room. There were several tubes and needles stuck in her body. She could feel a fierce pounding on her head, it was not entirely painful, but it was uncomfortable, it felt like thousands, no, millions of creatures were swarming within her head, running wild amok in her brain. This strange feeling grew and grew and grew until she could take it no longer, she screamed out, "STOP IT!" Just as soon as the words came out of her mouth, the sensation stopped.

A doctor quickly ran in the room, looking at his patient with distrust and contempt, clearly displeased that he was ordered to watch over her, and asked, "Are you okay?"

"Yes, I guess." Kerrigan returned, she hears a small commotion outside, it sounds like glass breaking, "What's that?"

The doctor turned around, looking down the corridor just as a knife went into his chest, the doctor didn't even have time to scream as he crumpled onto the floor dead.

An armoured man walked into Kerrigan's sight, brandishing his knife with skillful ease. "Well, well, so this is the person the Emperor wants killed, not as dangerous as I thought." His helmet screen came down, showing a fierce looking man, he lifted the bloodstained knife to his lips and slowly licked the blade, drawling lecherously "Maybe we can have a little fun before I put you out of your misery."

Kerrigan looked around helplessly, looking for any kind of weapon, unfortunately the orderlies have taken any sharp or large blunt objects away in the room, even the needles stuck in her skin were tiny, unlikely to do any harm to the heavily armed man. Growing increasingly frightened as the man came closer, she covered her head with one hand, while the other hand placed in front of her to protect herself and pleaded, "Stay back." The man grinned maliciously and dove at her, just as a small blue spot materialized right in his path, the armoured man ran under the blue spot as lightning bolts zapped him, filling the room with the crackling of electricity, he was fried on the spot.

Kerrigan looked up from her arm and sees the burnt remains of her would-be assassin. She simply sat in the corner of the bed and cried. During her sleep, she had horrible nightmares and something told her that they were real, she was aware that she had been sleeping for a long time, but her nightmares seemed to span over a period of five years. She remembered everything from her dreams, she knew the skill, the terrans called it psi storm, the storm which filled every soldier with dread when a high templar was spotted. She remembered casting it in her nightmares, when she was called the Queen of Blades. 'Dreams don't give people abilities, especially not Protoss abilities.' She thought to herself, 'unless my nightmares were real…'

Kerrigan forcefully stops her tears and even though she felt weak, she was determined to leave the bed. She started to gently remove the needles and tubes out of her body when she hears gunshots fired outside. 'It might be more assassins, I need to hide.' She thought to herself and hastened the process, climbed out of bed, over the armoured assassin, the doctor and left the room.

She took a left turn, just as a grenade came speeding down the hallways straight at her, she instinctively stuck out her hands to soften the blow, waiting for the large explosion to engulf her… but it never came, she turned her head and opened her eyes. Her hands were creating some sort of barrier that stopped the explosion from harming her, on the otherside of the barrier however, was a completely different story. The hallway was demolished, the metal was turned red with heat, holes punctuated the walls, caused by fragments of the propelled grenade.

She slowly crept out of hallway, turned and saw a group of dead soldiers lying on the floor, with multiple gun-shots punctuated their armour, several other soldiers on hold, alert to the danger and other people wearing an assortment of medic armour, doctor coats and patient robes huddling in the corners of the room. In the middle of the room, was a tall, elegant Protoss talking to … she swooned… Jim Raynor, the man who loved her, the man that tried to rescue her against all adversity.

Then suddenly, she remember a distinct part of her dream, a part that recurred often, haunting her as his deep, baritone voice reverberated in her head, "_I swear I will kill you one day_." Kerrigan was shocked, her limbs stopped responding to her as she tried and failed to move back to the safety of her room. Kerrigan broke down in the burnt, charred hallway, if the metal was hot from the explosion, she showed no sign of it and her flesh began to turn red. She had never felt so helpless.

After a minute or two, when she heard footsteps coming towards her, she picked herself up and crawled back the way she came, with new determination. If the nightmares were actually real as her instincts told her, she knew she deserved to be punished, however knowing the fact that the man she loved hates her and wanted to kill her, Kerrigan simply lost the will to live, she found a room where medical supplies were stored and tried to find something that can end her life quickly. For some reason, she couldn't find one single knife or scalpel in this medical ward.

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><p>I have decided to go on a review diet, I will only eat reviews, soooooo... I hope all you guys will review because if I starve, I won't be able to write and if I can't write, I won't update, so logically... REVIEW!<p>

If I get any constructive review, I will try to private message you back!


	3. Hidden

_Hey there, so some people have asked me why Valerian is different from the canon. Well, I will flesh his character out better in either the next chapter or 2 chapters from now. He has his personal motivations and family commitments/pressures that caused him to act like his father. That Valerian should seem more like canon-like. I have a plot line I am trying to follow and the story will eventually get to the 2 Mengsk's thoughts, motivations and goals so look forward to that._

_Someone also ask me about where are the Protoss, so basically, Zeratul is still in exile, he has discovered the truth and finally did what needs to be done and will return and talk with the rest of the Protoss. _

_And, after all my rambling... without further ado, here is the next chapter._

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><p>Kerrigan could hear voices in the background, "Where is she? Where did she go? Find her!" Her search became more frantic until she found an IV bag. She bit into it, causing all the liquid to spill on the floor around her. She immediately wrapped it around her head and tied a knot, slowly falling into the peaceful sleep that only death brings.<p>

She was barely aware of the door in front of her opening, a soldier saw her lying against the shelves and called out, "She's here, medic!" The marine rushed forward slid towards her, taking his knife out of his holster. Kerrigan did not have the strength to push him away, she was slowly drifting away when the marine cut a hole in the bag. A medic then stuck a tranquilizer needle into her arm, Kerrigan drifted off to a peaceful sleep, but not the one she was hoping for.

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><p><em>10 minutes later<em>

Warfield was briefly the commanding officers of the current situation, "Our sensors have revealed the majority of the Zerg on other planets have, for some reason, stopped moving."

A video flashed on the screen, there was a 2 hydralisks drooling on a marauder who was pinned to the ground by the hydralisks' long sharp scythes. One of them was about to fire its spines when it just stopped moving. The marauder, using great force lifted a scythe out of his gun arm and blasted them to death.

"We caught this on camera, the hydralisks here simply stopped moving." Warfield rewound the video and zoomed in on a hydralisk, "As you can see here, it is still alive, it is still breathing. This moment happened 30 minutes after the artifact was fully charged." Another picture appeared on the screen, "Our sensors detected a Zerg fleet bearing down our Char, but likewise, 30 minutes after the artifact was used, it stopped, they are now dead in space. Raynor, we should eliminate this threat as soon as possible in case this situation does not last long."

Raynor nodded in agreement, "Aye."

"Captain Richards!"

A woman stood up and saluted, "Yes sir."

"Bring 2 battlecruisers, yours and the _Ares_ along with 4 squadrons of Vikings to eliminate the Zerg fleet."

"Yessir," She turned and left the room.

Just then, the door to the situation room opened again, two marines dragging a limp figure walked in, they threw her on the ground roughly, "Sir, Sarah Kerrigan as you ordered. The medic said she should come to soon."

Raynor glared at them, "Do you have to treat her so roughly? Where was she?"

One of the marines stared at Kerrigan, "She was in the medical supplies room, bitch was trying to kill herself."

Raynor's countenance immediately switched to one of concern, "Leave. Oh and if I see anyone else treating her nothing short of how you treat General Warfield or I, I will have that person flogged. You make sure to spread that."

Raynor walked up to Kerrigan, lifted her up in her arms. Again, he marveled at how light she was, how vulnerable she was, he placed her in one of the chairs and gently brushed the hair off her face.

He did not care that he was in the presence of Warfield, Horner and several other commanding officers, he was only glad that she did not succeed in her attempt.

She soon woke up, her eyelids slowly opened, "Where am I? Am I dead yet?"

Raynor chuckled, "No, darling."

Kerrigan took in the room and saw Raynor less than a foot away from her, her expression immediately turned to one of fear and screamed, she scrambled out of the chair and fell heavily on the floor, the other officers in the room ran towards her, but they were blocked by an invisible barrier. She huddled in the corner of the room and became to sob uncontrollably again.

Raynor looked at her, "It's okay, it's me, Jimmy. You're safe now."

Between sobs, Kerrigan said, "No, no, no. Get away from me, you said … you said you would kill me."

Raynor was stunned, "I never said that."

"Yes, four years ago… after I killed that Protoss Fenix, you said you would kill me."

"You remember everything?"

"That nightmare? I remember everything." A fresh wave of tears streamed down Kerrigan's face.

"Darling, you weren't … well… you, don't punish yourself. I'm here for you now and I promise I will never hurt you. I did say I would kill... but not you, I swore I would kill the Queen of Blades, not Sarah Kerrigan. And I did, back on Char, she is no more."

Raynor reached his hand out and pleaded, "Please, let me in. I want to help you."

The invisible barrier receded a bit, causing Raynor to stumble forward and land on his face. Despite the hilarity of the moment, the somber situation resulted in no laughter from the people in the room, except for Kerrigan, a small laugh broke in between her sobbing.

Raynor regained his composure, "How are you doing this?"

"I don't know, when I woke up, I could do this, amongst other stuff."

Raynor's brain remembered a small detail, he thought 'Did she kill that assassin?' A medic informed him that there was a dead assassin in Kerrigan's room, who was burnt to a crisp, apparently he died from a heavy shock of electricity, but there were no wires found within the room. Raynor remembered that during her time as the Queen of Blades, she had the ability to cast psi storms.

"The dead man, in your room, did you kill him? Did you..." He paused, "cast a psi storm at him?"

"Yes."

Everyone in the room knew what that meant, even though Sarah Kerrigan was once human, she somehow retained the abilities that she had as the Queen of Blades.

"Kerrigan, let me in. I want to help you." Raynor said softly, with compassion in his voice.

The barrier disappeared with a small crackle and Raynor stepped in close to her and hugged her close to him. "I will never let you go again Sarah."

A Protoss materialized in the room, "Friend Raynor, it's time to see the rest of the prophecy."

Kerrigan peeked up from Jim's arms and saw the figure peering down at them. Once again, she gave a shrill cry, "It's Zeratul." No sooner then she finished that sentence, Zeratul was under a small blue circle and was engulfed with lightning. "Argh… stop it." Everyone in the room could do nothing but watch, though they were 5 meters away, they could still feel the intense heat radiating from the storm.

Raynor snatched her outstretched hand away from Zeratul, however that did not stop the storm, she continued to gaze intensely at the Protoss."Kerrigan, stop it, he's a friend, he tried to save you too. Drop the storm!"

When Kerrigan didn't heed his words, Raynor grabbed her by the neck and kissed her on the mouth.

The storm slowly subsided, the groans coming from Zeratul stopped as his shields flickered and began the slow recharge.

Raynor broke the kiss and said, "Sorry, this is four years too late …" He pointed to a clearly weakened Zeratul, "Zeratul is a friend, he is the one who told me that you had to be saved, not killed."

Kerrigan nodded, she allowed Raynor to help her get back on her feet and was placed on a chair again.

Warfield continued the briefing, "Well… we are all here, the floor is yours Zeratul. Raynor has told us about your vision, we are all very interested in this … missing piece"

Zeratul grunted an acknowledgment.

The door once again opened, an intelligence officer marched in, gave the officers in the room a crisp salute, Raynor's voice boomed, "At ease, soldier."

He marched up to Warfield and handed him a document, "Sir, we have intercepted this transmission less than 2 minutes ago. It was sent to every fleet and planet in the Dominion."

Warfield read it quickly and chuckled, "The Dominion works fast, I finally get to step in your shoes eh Raynor." He handed the document to Jim.

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><p><em>Attention:<em>

_This is to be a public announcement for the UNN News tonight at 11pm. _

_The decorated veteran General Warfield has been brainwashed along with 20% of his fleet by the terrorist Jim Raynor. Their combined forces ambushed the brave soldiers of the Dominion and destroyed half of the once glorious fleet. Under Prince Valerian's brave leadership, 30% of the fleet has survived and returned to Korhal safely._

_Warfield is under a new kind of brainwash that the Dominion has never seen before, it is similar to the Zerg Infestor's neural parasite but permanent. Dominion scientists are trying hard to find a cure, at the moment he is considered dangerous. _

_Any fleet that spots Raynor's Raiders and General Warfield's fleet should engage and contact for reinforcements, any planet that spots them should contact for reinforcements._

_Officially signed by_

_**Emperor Arcturus Mengsk**_

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><p>Raynor snickered, "Mengsk is good at spinning the truth, he's had so many years of practice … neural parasite."<p>

Raynor turned to the intelligence officer and issued orders, "Use the usual channels, contact the sympathetic planets, inform them that General Warfield has joined our revolution and that Mengsk and the UNN's proclamations are utter bullshit."

"Yes sir." He turned and left the room. No one noticed the three blurs that crept into the room at the same time.

Zeratul stood forward, "I will start now, for clarity's sake, I will show you the entire vision once more Friend Raynor."

Once more, Raynor saw a vision in his head as did all the other beings in the room.

Once more, he saw Zeratul's journey to find out the truth about the hybrids, his fight with the hybrid, Maar and finally his fight to the Overmind's tendrils and finally, the haunting vision of the last stand of the Protoss. The swarm of Zerg rushing at the few defenders, backed up by the powerful hybrids. The reavers were tearing into the zealots, despite their shields, were ripped apart with ease, dozens of them required to take down one single reaver. The destroyer's powerful psionic blasts blew away stalkers and void rays out from the air. Even the mighty carriers and the dreaded mothership, the Shield of Aiur were shot down, despite the might of the Protoss military, the few remaining defenders stood no chance against the powerful hybrids.

The vision suddenly zoomed out again, seeming to move back in time, rewinding quickly, a voice echoed in the room, "and this is the missing piece of my vision."

Suddenly, a picture of a charred landscape appeared, smoke billowing out in the distance, it was dead silent, except for the occasional cry of a Zerg creature. The view panned towards the right and in a large pit, was the carcass of the once mighty Overmind. Raynor knew that the Overmind tried to fight the control of the "Dark One" but failed, creating Kerrigan as a savior, but no one knew what her role was.

Zeratul suddenly appeared in front of them, Tassadar's spirit once again began to communicate with the dark prelate. He has heard the same conversation twice already and took no time to realize that something was different, revelation flooded him.

_Tassadar said, "It created a chance, a hope for salvation… the Queen of Blades."_

_Zeratul exclaimed, "Madness!"_

_Tassadar explained, "Only she can free the Zerg from slavery – and in doing so, save all that is … from the flame."_

_Zeratul confused, "I do not understand, brother,"_

_Forget what you know, Zeratul. The Overmind saw a vision… the end of all things. It knew it had to die to free the Zerg, by infesting Kerrigan, a being was created to control the Zerg without the overriding directive that the Forgotten One forced upon the Overmind. All of the cerebrates had that directive, only the Queen of Blades retained a sliver of independent thought, a part of her humanity was uncorrupted from infestation, differentiating her from the cerebrates. This is why she fought so hard against the cerebrates combining to create a new Overmind, she wants to retain her independence." _

_"The Overmind's vision will show you why it is imperative to keep Kerrigan alive. And now you must see it too."_

Thankfully, the last stand of the Protoss was fast-forwarded, sparing the viewers of the horrors of that battle. The vision then returned to Zeratul and Tassadar.

_Tassadar grimly said, "This is what will happen if the Queen of Blades is killed. Darkness will remain in the world and nothing can stand in the Forgotten One's path. Only Kerrigan can prevent the Zerg from falling into the control of the Forgotten One, only she is strong enough is fight against his influence. I know that she has manipulated the death of your matriarch, but you must forget your personal vengeance and fight alongside her."_

_Zeratul, looked shocked to the core, as one would have if witnessed his own gruesome death, "But how does Kerrigan free the Zerg, right now, she has no mercy, she kills and destroys without a second thought. Those hybrids… we would be hard-pressed to destroy an army of those, even with the Terrans as our allies."_

_Tassadar replies, "There is a Xel-Naga artifact, it's purpose is to destroy any of the Xel-Naga's creations if they got out of hand. Since Kerrigan retains a part of her humanity, she would not die and simply return as a human. If she was fully infested… she would be destroyed. The artifact's powers would only eradicate the infested parts of her, yet keeping her alive to fight the coming darkness and to control the Zerg. Most importantly, she would have her humanity once again and be able to fight with compassion, mercy and empathy. You will have to enlist the Terran's aid to recover this artifact, for if it is activated, it would also kill you."_

_"Where is this artifact you speak of?" _

_"It is separated into 5 pieces." Tassadar gave Zeratul its locations, "I have found them in my spirit state and they are guarded heavily. Use it on the Queen of Blades and return her to her human form. The Forgotten One will try to take control of the Swarm when she is incapacitated. Help her regain control of the Zerg. Go now, Zeratul!"_

The vision started to swirl and those in the room slowly came back to reality.

All those in the room were shocked, everyone was silent. Everyone needed time to absorb this new shocking information.

Zeratul broke the silence, "I have sworn to kill her for she manipulated my matriach and forced my hand to slay her." Kerrigan grimaced as Zeratul continued, "However, she was not wholly responsible for her actions as the Queen of Blades, her morality was inhibited. I will not see the universe burn for personal vengeance. I will protect her and see her fulfil her role in the coming battles." Silence once again reigned in the room.

Raynor was the first to speak, "So this is what the artifact does?" He turns to Kerrigan, "You're still the Queen of Blades… but you're still you. This explains all your abilities. You can still control the Zerg?"

Kerrigan fell silent, thinking about what just transpired, then she spoke almost in a whisper, "When I woke up, I could feel creatures running around in my head, I could't get it out and it wouldn't stop. I couldn't take it no longer, I yelled stop and it stopped. I suspect," she paused again, Kerrigan looks completely broken, Raynor couldn't help noticing, nothing like the strong, confident commando he knew and loved before. "The creatures in my head are the Zerg, I think I can still control them."

Zeratul broadcasted his thoughts to the room, "Kerrigan's psionic potential was enhanced when she was infested, however, the Overmind used her to save the Zerg and left her with some humanity. She was infested in a way that anchored her abilities to her human side, leaving her with all the powers she had learned and had enhanced, however, she has to retain all her memories she has gained as the Queen of Blades, else she would not be able to control her powers and be a danger to us all."

Raynor, for the first time in a while, even when fighting the Zerg on Char, was at a loss of what to do. "So what do we do?"

Zeratul, with all the condolences a Protoss could muster, "We have to help her gain control of the Zerg Swarm once more and combine the powers of the Terran, Protoss and the Zerg to fight against the coming Apocalypse, otherwise, this prophecy will come true."

The room was still silent with shock, they all thought that the Zerg would be the end of the universe, not some kind of hidden enemy that was hiding in the background, manipulating all to suit its purposes.

Suddenly a _crack_ boomed out from the corner of the room, a second _crack_ boomed, half a second after, 2 blurs slumped forward, decloacking into ghosts at the same-time. A third ghost materialized in the room right after, holding a large C-10 rifle, "I'm sorry, but after seeing that vision, I cannot possibly shoot Kerrigan now." All the men in the room took out their side arms and aimed it at the ghost. Kerrigan immediately went behind Raynor and hid behind his back.

Raynor gritted his teeth, "Nova, did Mengsk send you to assassinate Sarah? "

Nova replied nonchalantly, almost as if she doesn't see all the guns pointed at her, "Hey there cowboy, mind telling your boys to drop the guns, I mean no harm right now. Well, I did mean harm, but not now," she chuckled, "I just shot 2 of the assassins that were sent to kill Sarah Kerrigan right? If I meant harm, we would have shot her and escaped and you wouldn't even know who did it."

"Or you can just be trying to get into my good graces and act as a spy for Mengsk."

"Look alright, I just saw that vision, you had no idea I was here, so I don't think the Protoss would have changed it to trick me, therefore I believe that it is true. If so, I have to do something to save the universe right? I can't have it on my conscience that I killed the potential savior of the universe."

"Doesn't Mengsk fit all his ghosts with neural inhibitors? He could control you again at a single button."

"Can't happen, a while back, I was on a mission helping the Crown Prince find a Xel-Naga artifact, there was some kind of trap in the cave and it shocked all of the team, except for me. I was not hurt at all, except all my electronics were disabled. I found out that my neural inhibitor overloaded and I never told them. Why do you think I came to you for the Tosh problem? Mengsk simply ordered me to eliminate him. I am here and doing this on my own free will."

Raynor asked, still not fully believing Nova,"Then why does Mengsk still send you to do his dirty work, if he couldn't control you"

"They don't know my inhibitor stopped working, never told them." She shrugged, "I just acted like I was manageable, they never questioned whether I still had the neural inhibitor and I never gave them a chance to use it. Jimmy, seriously, I am doing this on my own accord. Trust me." A small voice came from behind Raynor, "She's telling the truth." It was Kerrigan, "I read her mind."

Raynor turned to the people in the room, "Drop the weapons boys," Then turning to Nova, "That doesn't mean I trust you… you have a long way before you earn my trust."

Warfield looked at Raynor, "I don't like this… she is the deadliest ghost in the Dominion, she gets sent to do the dirtiest work and she never fails."

Nova retorted, "Was, not is. And you were the best general in the Dominion, not are… were. I am just like you, I see the truth and I want to finally fight for the good side, I always thought the Dominion was fighting for justice, but I have always been a ghost as far as I can remember. Had my memory wiped, can't remember who I was before, so as far as I know, I was fighting for good."

Raynor pointed a finger at her, "We'll be watching you Nova, if you ever as much as think about betraying our trust, I would have you shot."

The finger then turned into a hand, "But you are a skillful ghost, it would be nice to have you on our side. Welcome aboard."

* * *

><p><em>So this is the end of this chapter and they now saw the full vision, what would our heroes do?<em>

_So far this story is pretty plot heavy, but I start going deeper into each character in the next several chapters_

_AND REVIEW! For every review I get, I will send one email to Blizzard pushing them to publish Heart of the Swarm quicker. I don't know how effective it would be, but it's the thought that counts right?_


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